Faced with a seven-hour drive to spend time with daughters in Trail and on Christina Lake, we had the bright idea of flying into Castlegar, saving the long drive and frustrating construction stops. And shouldn’t we be supportive of airlines that have had such a tough time over the past couple of years?
First problem – apart from the exorbitant cost of a ticket – was trying to organize the boarding pass online. Many attempts were made before recruiting the help of daughter #2 from her laptop at the lake.
Arriving 90 minutes before take-off after a $50 cab ride, one of the boarding pass QR codes just didn’t work. Then it was a 12-minute walk to the terminal but boarding was only 10 minutes late.
One lady told us she had been there the day before but her flight was cancelled. Now, like all other passengers we confidently contacted daughter #1 to drive the half hour to Castlegar to pick us up.
Up, up and away. Until only a few minutes from our destination the flight deck informed us. “We have a malfunction with the landing gear so must return to Calgary.”
Anxious moments but landed safely. Move to another gate and they soon had another plane for us but couldn’t rustle up a crew. Flight cancelled – come back tomorrow.
Thanks to daughter #2 who changed our flight through to Kelowna and then drove three hours to pick us up.
Eight hours before we finally left YYC. So sorry, airline industry, next time it’s a long drive but we will be in control.
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It’s encouraging to see optimism returning to the downtown. There’s a push by city hall to refill towers but exciting to see Bantrel made its decision to relocate back into the core on its own dollar after many years along Glenmore Trail. Simple reasons cited were better abilities to network, being closer to clients and the huge variety of eateries for staff – as well as the great amenities at its new home in Stephen Avenue Place.
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And that is also home to Major Tom. Congratulations to Concorde Entertainment Group on it being named Canada’s best new restaurant.
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If historic names really must be changed – something that I have railed against – then I have my own suggestion.
One of the first men to call attention to Yoho Valley was Jean Habel, a German adventurer and mountaineer. In 1900 a 10,387-foot mountain was named in his honor by one of my heroes, mountaineer Norman Collie who made the first ascent of Mount Athabasca from where he was the first explorer to see the Columbia Icefields.
After the first world war it was renamed Mont des Poilus to honour French infantrymen. I prefer Mount Habel.
There is a precedent in our mountain nomenclature.
In 1946 Castle Mountain was renamed Mount Eisenhower but after much public pressure reverted back to Castle in 1979.
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All very well trying to bring multi-family units into the core but I have a concern about children being brought up amidst downtown traffic with few places to play and no schools.
It’s been a long time since kids were seen and heard enjoying their break time at McDougall School.
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Final words: There’s always lots of free cheese in a mousetrap.
